Wa, Jan. 12, GNA - The Upper West Regional branch of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) handled 209 complaints last year and about half of that number were family related issues.

The complaints included child and spouse maintenance, disagreements over pregnancy, tenancy agreements, inheritance and property related complaints, intestacy and compensation.

Mr Adams Mumuni, the Acting Regional Director of the Commission who spoke to the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Wa on Thursday, said 179 of the cases were adjudicated and closed during the period while 30 of them are pending.

He said some clients misconstrued the commission as a Court of Justice and sometimes their expectations regarding fines, compensation and other forms of punishment were beyond the jurisdiction of the commission.

Mr Mumuni said some family members, after bringing an issue for settlement, often turned back to withdraw it for settlement at home after a second thought in order not to apparently "wash their dirty linen in public". This, he said, often created problems for the Commission when the case was brought back after they were unable to reach consensus at home.

Mr Mumuni said the Commission had undertaken public education campaigns in 102 communities in the region to let people appreciate the importance of human rights for peaceful co-existence. But this initiative, he said, had been hindered by lack of reliable transport for the staff to fight outmoded and inimical cultural practices such as banishments, de-humanizing widowhood rights and wife-inheritance.